Arm rests for vehicle seats such as commonly used in recreational vehicles are typically pivotally connected to the seat frame and are shiftable between a generally horizontal position and generally vertical position. This pivotal connection of the arm rest to the seat frame permits the arm to be raised for easier passenger entrance or exit. It is further common for the arm rest to be removable.
Heretofore the pivotal connection between the frame and arm rests included a generally U-shaped metal bracket welded to the frame and a metal shaft carried by the arm rest. A stop is carried by the shaft to contact abutments on bracket to define the horizontal and vertical limits of the arm rest. The stop also provides removal of the arm only when positioned at a predetermined keyed location relative to the bracket. Removal of the arm rest requires the user to blindly position the stop pin within keyed opening of the bracket. The metal-on-metal contact of the prior art bracket and arm rest shaft creates a vibration noise when the vehicle is traveling. The generally loose fit of the shaft to the bracket required for proper operation enhanced the vibration noise created.
One apparent attempt to reduce this noise involved the use of a plastic or nylon bushing which is carried by a bracket. However with the prior art bracket, the shaft carried by the arm rest requires additional machining as compared to the more common shaft and stop pin previously described.